Friday letters: Immigration on center stage

Regarding "League City bans undocumented children" (Page B2, Wednesday), I was distressed, discouraged and bewildered that the League City Council approved a resolution to reject unaccompanied children seeking immigration at our border.

I thought badly of our inability or unwillingness as a community to focus on possible solutions to the problem.

However, when I read the newspaper, I saw there were 26 citizens who spoke at the meeting, and about two-thirds of these citizens were against the resolution. That encouraged me that our citizenry has compassion, and most want to do what is right. The council voted against the majority.

It is very important that we all vote in November. Let's do all we can to keep our city and county a place we can be proud to live in. It should be a place that is not based on fear and prejudice but one with a strong belief that we are smart enough and compassionate enough to solve big problems in positive ways.

Regarding "Immigration judges reassigned to handle border children crises" (Page B1, Thursday), in all the stories about the incredible number of children flocking to cross our border, never once have I heard anyone suggest that the Mexican government be tasked with stopping the trains at the Mexican-Guatemalan border and at several prescribed points along the route and simply remove all unauthorized riders.

It would be far cheaper to stop the flow nearer the source, and we could send humanitarian aid to Mexico to operate refugee camps in their southern border region.

I recall that when you find yourself in a deep hole, the first step is to stop digging. We need to stop the digging and offer help where it is most effective. Send MREs (Meals Ready to Eat) and financial aid and send observers to be sure how the aid is used.

With the humanitarian crisis going on down on the Rio Grande, our politicians are playing politics once again. Hardly the time, I must say.

Here we have President Obama coming to Dallas and Austin to raise funds for his fellow Democrats but won't go a few miles farther to the border to get a firsthand look at what's actually going on down there.

And his excuse for not going is to say that it would be just another photo op that would detract from the problem. And while he's denouncing "photo ops" there he is in a picture shooting pool and jesting with someone in the crowd in Denver. That's a classic photo op planned right down to the finest detail by his handlers.

Without trying to take sides, I would have to think that Gov. Rick Perry's idea of sending National Guard troops to the border right away would be the answer - at least short-term. Maybe not long-term but at least it would be a move that could be done with some immediacy that would let all sides weigh in with some possible longer-term answers.

But instead we have Obama arguing with the Republicans about getting approval for $3.7 billion to solve the border problem. Maybe it would or maybe it wouldn't, but regardless, that's a move that is going to take some amount of time.

Time is precious at the moment with hundreds of women and kids streaming across the border every day.

This thing has gotten out of hand and is worsening by the day and virtually nothing is being done. If ever there was a time for our politicians to put politics aside and work together this is it.